ASTR performs a cover of Drake‘s “Hold On We’re Going Home”, a song I absolutely love. ENCORE! SESSIONS is the new and exciting music series brought to you exclusively by ABSOLUT & FORWARD. Shot in high definition, ENCORE! offers music fans a unique glimpse into the minds and meanderings of emerging talents. The live sessions are recorded twice a month at Le Baron Chinatown in New York.

Tomorrow night will be a crazy good punk rock show featuring LA’s very own FIDLAR and rising local artists Cherry Glazerr and Isaac Rother & the Phantoms. Also London-based four-piece Cheatahs has also been added to the bill.

The showcase was curated by new Los Angeles curator Amoeba Music and will feature the smooth stylings of LA-based quintet Isaac Rother & The Phantoms, who harken back to an era when rock ‘n roll was simple, fun and dangerous. Meanwhile, LA trio Cherry Glazerr combines lo-fi shoegaze elements with relentless driving grooves. Fiery alt-rockers Cheatahs will celebrate the recent release of their self-titled debut album, which VICE named February’s Best Album of the Month. They’ll join headliners FIDLAR, who have a reputation for being one of the most exciting punk bands on the planet. I’ve seen FIDLAR before and they know how to rock out with lots of energy, creating a really fun raucous environment.

The show is just $3 with RSVP to redbullsoundselect.com and $12 without RSVPing. So if you have any interest, make sure to RSVP, especially since it’s at one of the most underrated music venues in LA, Echoplex!

Saturday night I saw one of the best performances of a DJ singing ever in Brooklyn’s Chris Glover aka Penguin Prison performing live at Echoplex. The only other DJ who also sang that possibly rivals how awesome of a performance I saw Saturday night might be that of Mystery Skulls back in October at Culture Collide Festival. (more…)

My favorite South African rapper Dean Risko is back with another gem, this time being featured on up-and-coming South African synthpop band The Illustrators latest release, “Young Kings”. It’s quite a catchy pop song that could easily get on the radio if it was put out by some major label electro pop band like Bastille, Capital Cities or CHRVCHES. If you close your eyes while listening to this song, you will think it’s a hit, hopefully it catches on in South Africa and here in the states.

This past Friday, I was given the ultimate Echo Park music fan hall pass, I got all-access into two venues in one night, enjoying Scavenger Hunt upstairs at The Echo and Mt. Ossa, Body Parts, and Wildcat! Wildcat! downstairs at Echoplex. It was quite the night of good alternative dance pop music and I’ll try to recap what I enjoyed most below. (more…)

Australia indie electro pop band Strange Talk is back with a new song, titled “Young Hearts”, off their upcoming debut album, Cast Away (Pre Order), which I can’t wait to come out on April 29th. “Young Hearts” has their signature indie electro pop vibes that remind me of Cut Copy, Empire Of The Sun and Passion Pit, acts that Strange Talk will reach in popularity once their debut drops and their worldwide touring begins. This band is built for stardom and ever since I saw them at The Satellite back in November, I’ve been dying to hear more new releases from them.

Stream “Young Hearts” below and you will understand why I dig these Aussie rockers so much.

By the way, if you haven’t seen their latest music video for “Eskimo Boy”, you MUST WATCH IT! This is one of their best songs and the reason I fell in love with their music back in 2011!(more…)

Keith Masters is back with his latest single, “Atlantis 1997”, produced by synth-wave 80’s pop sounding UK band Futurecop! and Toronto DJ duo Kill Them With Colour. The production is top-notch, lyrical flow is on point, I think this is definitely worth a listen if you dig hip-hop with interesting beats.

Last Wednesday I saw an incredible indie/alternative band that is quite hard to fit into a specific genre in Grizfolk. This band has an upcoming debut EP, From The Spark, dropping through Virgin Records on February 25th and headlined a SOLD-OUT show at Troubadour that was well worth checking out.

I’m very happy I attended this show as I’ve been intrigued by Grizfolk ever since I heard “The Struggle” last summer and have been craving new tunes from them! Their set went by fast as they never stopped playing the music, only stopping once to congratulate a friend on their wedding engagement. Other than that, this band went from song to song as a set that felt like 30 minutes actually went well over an hour at The Troubadour!

I was recommended this band by a few friends and I’m so happy to have seen them live as they got the crowd singing with their alternative Americana-rock vibe that is easy and fun to sing along to and yet can get the hipsters moving a bit. I was disappointed by the crowd in not everybody clapping at the last song when the band encouraged everybody to clap but other than that, this was a very pleasant show and I can’t wait to hear their debut EP which I’m guessing was heavily featured in their set last week.

It’s hard to describe their music because at times it felt country folk rock while other times more electro-pop and I highly encourage everybody to check them out because their music feels so unique yet seeing them you eel you are seeing a band that will headline a worldwide tour and perform at festivals all over the world in the near future, Grizfolk is that good live!

A few weeks ago just before GRAMMY Week started for me, I was able to catch three upcoming indie electro pop acts in DWNTWN, Carousel and Scavenger Hunt. Read more for my brief review of their performances at The Satellite in January.(more…)

What We Do

BEFORE THE BIGS is about providing you with the best up-and-coming musicians while assisting their efforts to break into mainstream. We feature artists and their music from a variety of genres including hip-hop, indie/alternative, rock, pop mashups, and electronica/remixes.

All mp3s are for promotional purposes only. If you believe a song has been wrongfully acquired and posted please contact us at BeforeBigs@gmail.com